SUNRISE, Fla. — After Tuesday’s loss to San Jose, the Detroit Red Wings got what they were looking for Thursday night in the first game of a four-game road trip.
The Wings got three power-play goals and went on to beat Florida, 5-2, to move back within two points of a playoff spot.
This came despite a furious Florida onslaught which saw the Panthers outshoot the Wings 43-20, including. 23-5 edge in the third period.
Dylan Larkin had two goals and an assist and Detroit won for the eighth time in 10 games under Todd McLellan.
“We didn’t have the start we wanted,” Larkin said. “But (the Panthers) always play well in this in this building, and and we weathered the storm. And then (Detroit goalie Cam) Talbot made big saves, and our power play got going and won us the game tonight.”
The Panthers were all over the Wings in their end early, but Jonatan Berggren put the Red Wings on top early and they never trailed. Patrick Kane gave the Red Wings the lead for good in the second period, and Marco Kasper gave them an insurance goal two minutes later.
Thursday’s performance was light-years better than the effort put forth on Tuesday. It served as a wake-up call.
“We dropped some points there,” Larkin said. “We thought we we felt we were playing well enough to get (by).”
-The Panthers, who have been slumping as of late, came out strong, but a chastened Red Wings squad held firm.
The game was broadcast on ESPN, and Larkin was asked what’s different with the Wings since McLellan took over,
“This has been a lot of fun,” Larkin said, then talked about his first goal. “It’s been the real deal. It all starts with Kaner. All I had to do is just keep my stick on the ice and close my eyes. It went right in.”
He finished the scoring with an empty-net goal late in the third period
That’s how it goes when a team is hot. Florida hit the goalpost or crossbar twice with no result. The Red Wings were outshot by a better than two-to-one ratio and won.
Just. the way to start a critical road trip.
